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3 Ways to Find Furniture for Less

I have moved so much in the past few years. My biggest move was when I sold everything in my 1,400 square foot townhome and bought a one way plane ticket to a Caribbean island. I lived on the island in a tiny apartment for 3 years, and it was a really unique experience!

Of course, now that I am back in the United States and living in a brand new apartment in New Jersey, I had a little problem moving in.

I had no furniture! Remember, I sold it all!

In fact, the only furniture we owned was two cribs for our twins and a hand me down full sized bed from my parents. I don’t know about you, but a full sized bed is rather cozy for two people, so we have been trying out new ways to find furniture for less.

We found a beautiful sectional couch, glass dining room table, pretty rug, two desks, dressers, and tables all for under $2,000 total. Some people spend that on just a sofa, especially a sectional one, so I thought we did great furnishing our new digs. Here how did it for less and how you can too.

1. Know Your Layout

I knew that our apartment wasn’t that big. In fact, I knew it would be difficult to fit most of our belongings in here! After talking to the landlord, we realized that bigger bed simply wouldn’t fit in our upstairs unit. The clearing for the stairs just wasn’t high enough. So, we went with a smaller bed that my parents gave us, which saved us money and also a lot of frustration. You have to know how big your place is before you start hunting for furniture. Dimensions are everything!

2. Craigslist, Baby

I know that everyone knows this tip, but I think the biggest thing about Craigslist is that you have to be extremely quick. I found my sofa on Craigslist only 27 minutes after it was posted, and I wasn’t sure that was even quick enough. It’s a huge, gorgeous sofa that probably cost the owners about $1,500 and they sold it to me for $100 just because they wanted to get rid of it asap to make room for a new sofa. Their loss was my gain, and it’s been the most used piece of furniture we have so far.

3. Order Online

I got several more items in my home from Overstock, Wal-Mart, Target, and Ikea. I know it can be annoying to buy things online if you have to return them, but as someone who has two new babies, you can’t put a price on convenience. So far, I haven’t had to return anything, and it’s saved us a lot of money since going to furniture showrooms is definitely more expensive.

Ultimately, there are a lot more ways you can save on furniture from going to thrift stores to DIY-ing it yourself. The biggest thing is to build it slowly over time. Don’t feel like you have to have every piece of furniture in its place right away. I’d love to have more pillows and curtains, but I’m going to wait until I find the best deal or see the perfect color and design that I want. Don’t be in a rush, and you can save a lot on furniture too!

What’s your favorite piece of furniture in your home? Where did you get it from?